Caring–Our way of life.

TWHS AUGUST NEWSLETTER!

The Woodlands High School, August 2016

Editor’s Message:

Hey Key Clubbers! Your new club editor here. I just wanted to wish everyone good luck with the new school year and express my gratitude and excitement for being able to document the success of this amazing team.

In This Issue:

President’s Message

Key Club & Time Management

Important Dates & Upcoming Events

Events and Projects

The Eliminate Project

Let’s start the school year off right with a few encouraging words from our club president:

“There was a lot of interest in Key Club throughout all four grades during

orientation. Hopefully membership will increase this year making the club

bigger and even better.”

-Lauren Nelson, President, Senior

HOW CAN KEY CLUBBERS MANAGE TIME AND STRESS WHILE BALANCING SCHOOL AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?

We wake up around five or six a.m., go to school half awake, wait for the 2:35 bell only to go back to work on the football field or tennis court for another three hours before we

finally reach home and by that time, it’s already time for dinner. And then comes the loads of chapter reading and essay writing and before we know it, it’s 1 a.m. and we’re only half way through. After a good four hours of sleep, we fall out of bed the next day just to do it all over again. That’s high school. For Key Clubbers, this day can be even more stressful with the added tasks of scheduling and attending club meetings, submitting articles, and keeping up with volunteering events. So how can we learn to manage time better, to balance our school and extracurricular activities, and to reduce stress?

One of the best things you can do for yourself is plan ahead and stay organized. Sit down once a week and layout at least the next seven days of your life. A visual organizer, such as

a calendar or a planner are great tools to help you have a successful week. This way you can see what’s coming up and what needs to be done. Also, start to familiarize yourself with

your daily schedule. Although it sounds pointless, make yourself a schedule that plans out your entire day minute by minute. Make sure to take everything into account such as school and extracurricular hours as well as time spend doing homework, eating dinner etc. Even include time spent watching T.V or going out with friends.

As we all know, having a large work load can lead to immense stress. This is why it’s important not to procrastinate. We hear it all the time and yet it is a major problem, especially among high school students. The sooner you break the habit of waiting until the last minute to complete a project, the sooner you can start to reduce stress levels. When it comes to studying for a test or quiz, this advice can come in handy. The human mind has proven to retain information better when it is reviewed in small bits over a large period of as opposed to cramming it all a night or two before the exam.

Lastly, don’t stress when you don’t have to! There’s no point in worrying about what isn’t being done or what could have been when you know that you’re doing whatever you can to

ensure success. Keep in mind that many times, we tend to put ourselves in stressful situations while knowing we are doing so. For example, many students are pressured into taking classes that they can’t handle or don’t have time for. Don’t take on

more that you can handle!

To further help you ease your mind off of your work, use your weekend. Sleep as much as possible and take time off with your friends and family. And to plan ahead for the upcoming week, attempt to get a head start on your work during the weekend while you are still fresh and rested

Important Dates:

September 1: Dues available on TWHS Web Store

September 3: Kiwanis 3rd Annual Kids’ Fishing Tournament

September 12/26: Meetings!

September 20: Thirst Project Lecture @ 3:05 in the LGI

October 8: Region 12 Training Conference

PHOTO: Members attend TWHS Key Club’s First Meeting for 2016-17 on August 26th

Events & Ongoing Projects:

33rd AnnualWoodlands Kiwanis Kids’ Fishing Tournament:

The Woodlands Kiwanis Kids’ Fishing Tournament is an annual event in which club members volunteer to help and spend time with the children as they participate in the fishing tournament. The tournament will be held on Saturday, September 3rd at Creekwood Park. All club members are highly encouraged to attend and have a good time at this event with friends and family. Lucky for you,drinks and snacks will be provided. Registration will begin at 7 am. and the tournament will begin at 8:00 am Members planning to attend are asked to wear either their Key Club or school shirt along with their best smile!

PAWS Tutoring:

PAWS tutoring, which stands for Peers Assisting With Schoolwork, is a great way for Key Club members to help out children to locally. Key Club volunteers every Monday from 4:00 to 4:45, starting on September 12th, Key Club members are welcome to participate by helping a junior high student with his or her homework. Remember back to your frustrating junior high days when you never understood when your teacher explained the material? Wouldn’t it have been nice to know that someone could help you out after school? Well, that someone can be you! All you have to do to make a thirteen-year old’s day is go over to McCullough campus and tutor a student for less than an hour in whatever subject you are comfortable in.

ELIMINATE

Every sixty seconds, eleven babies die of maternal and neonatal tetanus. Eleven. Every

minute. That’s forty-nine thousand newborns a year. And the worst part: all these lives can be saved.

Maternal and neonatal tetanus is a deadly disease caused by bacteria spores entering

the body through an open wound. These spores reside mostly in soil and affect the lives of

newborns in 19 of the poorest counties in the world. In places where unhygienic delivery

practices take places, such as cutting the umbilical cord with unclean and unsterile instruments, these spores come into direct contact with the open cut putting both the baby’s and mother’s lives in risk. In most cases, the baby dies within dies days of being born and his or her cause of death goes unrecorded. This is absolutely unacceptable.

In the United States, MNT is considered rare. So why is it still such a threat to the mothers

and babies in those 19 countries? Many times, it is because they live in poor conditions and do not have access to proper health care. However, this is no excuse for the death of so many at the hands of a disease that can be easily prevented with hygienic delivery practices and vaccines for pregnant women.

Between 2000 and June of 2016, forty countries including Bangladesh, India, Rwanda,

Cambodia, Nepal, and Ghana have eliminated- reduced the rate of MNT to that of less than

one case per 1000 births in every district of the country- MNT leaving only nineteen more

countries(UNICEF). Lucky for us Kiwanis International and UNICEF have partnered up and

accepted the challenge of eliminating MNT once and for all by initiating TRICK OR TREAT for UNICEF starting on October 1st. First on the list is funding. Funding is required to pay for the vaccines, transportation, skilled doctors, sterilization of the equipment, etc. so that every mother and child suffering from MNT can be successfully immunized. Although it seems like a long, never ending road, with the help of every member of Kiwanis International, UNICEF, WHO, and various donations, our goal of about $100 million can be reached.

We’re not far away from that goal; already, 145 million women have been immunized since 1999 and as of just two months ago, mortality rates due to maternal and neonatal tetanus have been reduced by 90% in the past 28 years(UNICEF). Spread the word: join the cause and donate, donate, donate! We’ve reached the final stretch. Now it’s up to us to finish the job.

Key Club Pledge:

“I pledge, on my honor, to uphold the Objects of Key Club International; to build my home, school and community; to serve my nation and God; and combat all forces which tend to undermine these institutions.”

TWHS Key Clubbers Lead the Way This May!

The Woodlands High School, May 2016

This month was exceptionally busy for members of The Woodlands HS Key Club! Members participated in various events including Sound By The Shore, Junior Achievement, and the Woodlands Ironman Triathlon.

In This Issue:

Letter from the Editor

President’s post

Reflecting on DCON

Farewell Seniors!

Member of the Month

Upcoming events

Letter From the Editor

Greetings Key Clubbers! School is nearly out and The Woodlands HS Key Club has had one successful May! Several members have approached me wishing for more! As this year draws to a close, don’t forget to let your seniors know how much they will be missed and to thank them for their years in Key Club! It is almost summer! That means service opportunities-both associated with Key Club and on your own. Utilize this summer to relax and enjoy yourself, while still finding ways to serve others. I encourage you to look for service opportunities independently all the while staying connected to your Key Club family. Be sure to let us know about all of your summer activities by tagging photos with #twhskeyclub and following our Instagram page! Feel free to email or direct message us with any questions, comments, or concerns. Have an incredible summer wherever it may take you and stay safe!

Yours in service,

Safaa Arif

President’s Post

“This month has brought the last of the volunteer work for the very successful 2015-16 school year, including the Ironman Triathlon, Sound By the Shore, and the Junior Achievement program at Kauffman Elementary. I saw members grow in both their leadership and character this year and could not be more excited to see the heights that this club reaches.” -Lauren Nelson, President

Quote of the month: “Great leaders don’t blame the tools they are given. They work to sharpen them.” -Simon Sinek

Reflecting on DCON

Disctict Convention, or DCON, is an event held annually for Texas-Oklahoma District Key Clubbers. From April 19-22, members from clubs across the district attend leadership workshops, gain knowledge from other clubs, and have an incredible time meeting new people who are all as passionate as you about service.

One of TWHS Key Club’s own, Morgan McLendon, shares her experience:

“Though my time at DCON was short, it was eventful. I had the pleasure to meet new people and even go talk to the T-O District Governor. There were games you could play at check-in, and that’s where I was assigned the roles of being a delegate and sergeant at arms. Day one was full of adventures; I got to go to different meetings that taught us how to make our Key Club better. Every time they spoke, they always talked about and emphasized leadership and family. The weekend was full of memorable moments, like dancing around at the Governor’s Ball with your friends, all the way to listening to a guest speaker talk about love. It was something that I am extremely grateful to have gotten the chance to be a part of. Next year, I hope we get the chance to bring more of the TWHS Key Club to DCON so they can get the chance to see what Key Club is truly about.”

Farewell Seniors!

As the school year draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all Key Club seniors. Whether you joined Key Club this year or have been involved for your entire high school career, please know how much your community and peers thank you for contributing to make a difference in the world through service. We know you will go on to do great things in the world and cannot wait to see where life takes you. We encourage you to join Kiwanis’ college service organization, Circle K, or another organization of the like. Just keep giving! We hope to see you soon. Love, TWHS Key Club

“You will never know the true extent of your influence.” -Unknown

Member of the Month

Meet Sarah LaRue!

Sarah joined Key Club Sophomore year and was this year’s editor. She will be attending the University of Texas at Dallas this fall.

Grade: Senior

Favorite color: purple

Favorite food: pizza

Favorite song: Riptide, Vance Joy

What do you love most about Key Club? ”

“I love how Key Club connects people from different schools and districts. A lot of clubs only function within a single school , but Key Club expands beyond, forming a larger community of volunteers and friends.”

What do you value most in a friend?

“Someone who is trustworthy and honest.”

What are you looking forward to most next year?

“Meeting new friends at college.“

Spirit animal: otter

Upcoming Events

Sound By the Shore: May 30. Town Green Park. 5pm-9pm. Benefitting Montgomery County Youth Shelter. Key Club will be selling SBTS balloons. Sign up through Remind link.